Wrap-up: Orioles 5, Yankees 4

(Mike Ricigliano / Special…)

April 28, 2010|By Steve Gould, The Baltimore Sun

How it happened: The Orioles scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Rhyne Hughes, Nolan Reimold and Cesar Izturis. They added an insurance run in the eighth on an additional run-scoring single by Izturis in the eighth, his third RBI of the night. Then things got tense. Alfredo Simon, called up from Triple-A Norfolk earlier in the day, entered in the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead. He struck out Curtis Granderson looking, allowed a single to Nick Swisher and walked pinch hitter Nick Johnson before striking out Derek Jeter with a nasty slider to record the second out of the inning. Simon's induced Brett Garner into a ground ball to shortstop Izturis, which should have been the game. Izturis, however, couldn't make the play, recording an error, allowing Swisher to score and extending the game. Severna Park native Mark Teixeira followed with an RBI single, bringing up Alex Rodriguez with runners on first and third. Simon got the job done, getting A-Rod to ground into a fielder's choice and recording his first major league save.

He said it: ""I am very happy they gave me an opportunity to close the game. I tried to do a good job. I tried to throw strikes in my first inning. And I am just really happy." -- Simon

You said it: "Simon was bringing it. 97 with movement. This guy could be a horse. Maybe we will have a closer. Or maybe another starter in the mix. His numbers at Norfolk were quite impressive." -- Burt from Essex, commenting on Orioles Insider